A former employee for Versace is suing the luxury fashion company for unfair business practices, and one of the allegations in his lawsuit is that the label uses a secret "code" to alert employees when a black customer enters the store.
Christopher Sampiro, 23, said he was fired for being of mixed race, after working for two weeks at the Versace outlet store in Pleasanton, California, CNN reported.
During his new employee training, Sampiro alleged that a manager asked if he knew about the “D410 Code,” which was the same code used for black clothing. The manager, who is not named in the lawsuit, instructed Sampiro to say D410 “in a casual manner” when a black person entered the store, CNN reported. According to the lawsuit, the code is used “to alert co-workers that ‘a black person is in the store.’”
Sampiro then asked the manager, “You know that I’m African-American?” In the lawsuit, Sampiro says he is one-quarter African-American.
Sampiro claimed the store’s management treated him “differently” and did not give him “legitimate” training, according to the lawsuit.
Sampiro was fired after working for two weeks in September because he didn't "understand luxury" and didn't "know the luxury life," according to the lawsuit, which was filed in November.
In court documents filed with Alameda County Superior Court, Versace denied Sampiro's allegations and asked a judge to dismiss the case. A case status conference is scheduled for March 21.
CNN called Versace's corporate office and its Pleasanton store for a comment. Calls have not been returned.
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